To witness it at the RAF Cosford Airshow was to gaze in wonder at one of the greatest - and most formidable - manufacturing achievements this country has ever produced.
I was reminded of this breathtaking sight this week when the Tory shadow chancellor George Osborne made a thoughtful speech setting out the Conservatives eight economic benchmarks. Osborne made the point, that few refute now, that Britain can no longer rely on the economic growth drivers of the last ten years. He reasoned that the illusion of growth was based on three factors the financial sector, consumer spending pumped with borrowing linked to the housing bubble and the expansion of the public sector. None of these will provide growth in the future so Britain needs to start making things again. Britain in short needs to reclaim its title as a world champion in manufacturing and engineering.
Here on Merseyside we see how vital engineering is to wealth and job creation. And, how good we are at it. Just look at Ellesmere Port Vauxhall, Halewood Jaguar and Birkenhead's Cammell Laird shipyard, a client of ours. Losing these businesses would be like losing a body organ to the diaphragm of our local economy.
As measure of its importance to the North West region the NWDA reported that between 1991 and 2001, the region's manufacturing industry had an output of £19.5 billion and employed 423,000 people, the highest of all the English regions. And creative firms just have to look at their client base to see the value of manufacturers. Manufacturers can afford and need PR, design and marketing services. Here at Artemis, for example, we have three manufacturers on books all committed to a long term PR campaigns to promote and manage their profiles.
The great problem for the new Government, be it Labour, Conservative or a coalition, is not that we are not able as a country. We know emphatically we are among the best in the world at making things. The problem is that British manufacturing has been in freefall for years. A victim of Governmental neglect, over taxation, red tape and increased competition from overseas. Since 1997 more than a million jobs have been lost in the sector. British manufacturing, our crown jewel, has been allowed to lose its lustre and become battered and damaged. What an egregious mistake. What a legacy to squander. And manufacturing has been one of the worst affected sectors in the recession with industry body the EEF predicting that output would grow by only 1.2%, this year picking up to 3.4% in 2011 but leaving it well below pre-credit crunch levels.
But Osborne is right we must kick start manufacturing again if we are to build a granite spine in our economy and generate long term skilled jobs and wealth. But to do that we must arrest the spiralling decline of manufacturing. And that means we need rethink key areas of tax, regulation and Government support. Vital to this is protecting British companies from foreign takeover. The recent £11.5bn sale of one of the UK's best known powerbrands Cadbury to an overseas owner, the US owned Kraft, financed by £7bn in debt was an example of how great British businesses and British interests are being sold down the drain. The attempted intervention by the impressive Peter Mandelson was feeble and achieved nothing. He was fatally blunted by his predecessor Patricia Hewett who in 2002 stripped the public interest criterion out of decisions on takeover bids except for those in defence, water and newspaper sectors. Unions are already voicing concerns about job losses, falling investment and Kraft's level of debt. The sorry episode should be a deafening wake up call to reinstate that criterion for all firms. The UK needs to start baring more teeth to protect our economic interests as the foreign businesses circle for rich pickings during our economic recovery. It simply cannot be right any longer that UK companies, the family silver in Cadbury's case, are sold off abroad for the benefit of investment bankers, hedge funds and new foreign owners. Kraft cannot be trusted to continue to invest in the UK and care about contributing to the UK economy. And certainly not care as the great Victorian philanthropist Cadbury family did. They must be somersaulting in their graves. If we continue selling our soul abroad, there is every chance the foreign owners will shrink investment and even pull out of the UK altogether. This leaves the sobering and rather sickening outcome that our brands, our decades of hard work start paying dividends to other nations.
What the new Government needs to encourage is greater commitment to Britain from its entrepreneurs and foreign investors. But in this there must be a quid pro quo. There does need to be radical reform of tax and a purge on red tape. Only then will manufacturing be more attractive in the UK, beyond the current superficial improvement where manufacturing grew at its fastest pace in 15 years in January thanks to the weak pound.
But at least the message about 'making things again' is starting to be heard. However with the election stampede thundering towards us, and Afghanistan and the expenses row looming large in the public mind, we cannot allow the cause of business, to be trampled over. The individual parties vision for economic recovery - and manufacturing - should be at the very heart of this election. Perhaps flying the Vulcan over Westminster might focus a few minds?